Happy Birthday, Slayer
by Jules3033
Summary: What if Buffy's 18th birthday "party" with the demented vampire had been different? What if Giles had done his assignment correctly and not interfered? Rated T to be safe, but it's just a little violence.


**This is my take on what would've happened if Giles had followed the rules and sent Buffy to fight the vampire on her own without any powers on season 3 episode 12, "Hopeless". **

**Obviously I don't own BTVS because if I did Willow would not wear a skirt with a sweater, stockings, and sneakers. The live California for goodness sake! How has she not died of heatstroke yet? Just kidding, Will is my favorite character, but you get the point.**

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At dusk, Buffy was walking through the dark end of town, looking for the old house Giles had given her the address too. She had never realized how much she relied on her slayer abilities. Without them she felt cold without a jacket, tired after walking less than 2 miles, sore from fights she tried to avoid picking, and nearly blind in the dark. It seemed like the demons could sense she was weak. And se already had a target on her back as it was.

Nervously, armed with only holy water she knocked on the door of the darkened house, wondering why Giles would possibly send her here. Annoyed that no one was answering she attempted to kick the door open out of habit, but instead of the door opening with a satisfying crack of the door frame, a sharp pain shot up her leg and the door remained shut. Swearing under her breath she grabbed a bobbypin out of her hair and picked the lock. Limping slightly she stepped into the house silently. Taking another step in and away from the door she tried to take in her surroundings, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Suddenly the door slammed shut and she noticed a presence. Turning frantically she held the large splintery cross she usually wore around her neck in front of her.

Reaching for the wall she made her way around the musty house, familiarizing herself with the small mansion. When her eyes adjusted she moved away from the wall. As she paced nervously, she had she feeling she was being watched, and extended the cross further. As she backed up, she bumped into something large.

Turning slowly, she looked up at arguably the biggest, ugliest, strongest looking vampire she had ever seen. When she held up her cross he chuckled and took it from her easily, pressing it into his chest, enjoying the pain it caused as it singed his skin. Mortified, Buffy turned out of the kitchen and sprinted up the stairs at full speed. She may not have slayer strength, but she could rely a little on adrenaline.

She silently moved thorough the hallway, picked a random room, and silently shut the door behind her. The vamp noisily marched down the hallway. "Hereeee pretty slayer. Come out and play with meee." Trembling, she peeked through the keyhole in the doorknob, and watched as the twisted vampire growling in pain, frantically digging through his pockets until he found a prescription bottle. She watched as he relaxed and resumed his actions once he had popped the cap off and taken a few pills.

As she was making a mental note, she didn't realize that the undead crazy had stopped in front of the room she was hiding in. As he kicked the door open, she flew back, slamming against the wall behind her with a thud. Groaning she forced herself up, diving under the vampire that towered over her, and sprinted from the room and down the stairs.

Not even bothering to run, the vampire followed her down the stairs and into what was once a living room. As he turned the corner, Buffy swung a fire poker at his head with as much strength as she could muster. He caught it inches from his face effortlessly and shoved her to the ground with his foot and raised the metal rod above his head. As he brought it crashing down to her, Buffy quickly rolled away, the weapon hitting the side of her arm, leaving a deep gash.

The look in the demon's eyes in reaction to the blood made her forget about the pain in her arm as she sprinted away from it and into yet another room, locking the door behind her. This time the vampire found her easily, but that was the plan.

As it burst through yet another door, The blonde quickly grabbed the pillbottle from his pocket, and jumped into the small laundry chute built into the wall, thankful for her tiny figure for the first time that evening.

She landed in the basement, hard. She cried out in pain as white hot pain seared through her lower leg, spreading when she moved. The jump bought enough time for the pills to wear off and send the deranged vampire into a frenzy.

When he stomped down the stairs she snapped a large piece of wood off a bookshelf next to where she was sitting. Pulling herself up, keeping as much weight as possible off her left leg, she prepared herself for the attack.

When he charged at her she ducked, letting him crash into the wall head first. The fought him off defensively, ignoring the sensation that her leg was being torn to shreds from the inside. She fought long and hard, but eventually she was on the ground looking up at the ancient vampire, weak and losing blood from various gashes covering her body.

The bleeding slayer looked at the remaining 2 pills in the bottle she was clutching onto like it was life itself, and swallowed them quickly, hoping that they would not poison her, and that the demon would die without them. For a few moments, she felt strength, the pain drifting away as her vision got hazy. The last thing she saw before slipping into the darkness was the vampire retreating away from an unseen tormentor, crying out in pain.

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Not long after she had taken the pills did Angel show up at the boarded up house. He caught her scent while walking around town, much stronger than it should be, signaling blood. He had a gut feeling there was a problem, mostly because she was supposed to be hours away, at an ice show with her father.

Walking briskly towards her scent, but eventually broke into a run when he smelt her fresh blood strong enough to mean serious injury. When he approached the house and kicked in the door, the smell of her blood was sickening to him. Once he reached the basement he prepared himself for the scene that lie before him and stepped in. There was the deranged demon curled up in the corner twitching and spasming, and across the room he noticed the petite blonde unconscious on the floor, bruised, bloody, and her wrist and leg swollen. "Buffy?" He whispered quietly, hoping for a response. When he received no reply he gently lifted her. When she moaned slightly in pain sighed in relief, knowing she was alive and fighting.

He drove at dangerous speed, and made it to the hospital in less time than he thought was possible. When he walked in carrying the limp blonde I his arms doctors swarmed him and whisked her away, instructing him to stay in the waiting room. Police questioned him, but he knew all he could say was that he found her in an alley. When he was finally left alone, he called Giles, filled him in, and hung up quickly; watching the 'staff only' doors in hope of news.

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Buffy was in and out of conscious, half convinced she was dead. She thought she had experienced Angel coming and carrying her out, and then the bright lights and scents of a hospital. "I must be in hell" she thought to herself as doctors and nurses moved around her, trying to assess and the damage she had withstood. She panicked when she noticed Angel was not with her, fighting against the doctors weakly, muttering about vampires and demons. She heard someone mention brain injury before a needle was pressed into her arm and she relaxed against her will.

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The next morning Angel was gone with the moon and Giles sat in a plastic chair in the freezing hospital room, watching her, waiting for her to awaken while muttering threats to the council and their stupidity. He sat and paced away the day, listening to the repetitive beeping of a minitor, the only signal she was still alive.

Soon night fell, and Angel was back, forcing Giles away, assuring him he would stay and notify him of any change. He looked at the slayer who had been unconscious for nearly 24 hours and sighed, taking advantage of the opportunity to truly study her. With her constant moving it was hard to really get a look at the blonde. Angel sat awhile, watching her shallow breathing, making mental not of her soft features. He finally took in her injuries; the fresh casts on her left wrist, and right ankle, the bandage covering a deep gash on her arm, the various cuts and bruises everywhere, and finally the neatly sutured cut on her head. The doctor assured him that he was pretty optimistic for Buffy, because her skull did not crack when she was tossed on the ground. But any head injury is dangerous, and she was pretty banged up.

Night passed, and day came. Once again Giles sat in the small room, cursing himself up a storm over his mistakes. Midday, Willow showed up with her resolve face and sent him away for lunch. Xander walked in and naturally Cordelia was behind him, "Xander you-" but taking in the slayer's unconscious appearance she silenced mid-insult.

They stood there in awkward silence until Willow spoke. "I talked to Ms. Summers and she said the earliest she could get here is 2 days from now and I kinda downplayed her condition so..." She trailed off digging the heel off her shoe into the ground, leaving a scuff mark and not caring. Not long after Oz walked in and assumed his spot next to Willow.

When night fell the scoobies retreated from the small room, partially relieved that Angel wasn't the most welcoming soul. As much as they wanted to be with their friend it was too much to sit in the small silent room an think of the worst case scenario. He was sitting at her side holding her non-casted hand gently to avoid the tubes and wires. A groan consisting of pain and confusion snapped Angel back to reality from his brooding. "Buffy?" She shifted uncomfortably and squeezed his hand weakly. "Come on, open your eyes I'm here" he practically begged her. Slowly In response she opened her eyes an took in her surroundings groggily. Angel quickly hit the nurse call button anticipating her actions to follow. Looking around Buffy took in the scent and colors of the hospital and panicked. As the monitor to her side started beeping more frequently she fumbled with the IV hanging from her wrist and tried to sit up. She met gentle resistance on her shoulders and pushed against his hands attempting to sit up. When the nurse rushed in, follow by a doctor, she was rambling about a demented vampire and being powerless. The young doctor pushed a needle containing a light tranquilizer into her arm and moments later she sunk back, still gripping Angel's hand with her good, but the fear didn't leave her eyes.

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By morning she was awake and calmer than before. Angel had the blinds shut tight, hardly letting in a shard of sunshine to prevent going poof. When Buffy pushed herself up into sitting position she hissed in pain and hunched over in seconds he was standing over her with concern. When the pain in her ribs subsided to a throb she looked up and smiled halfheartedly. "I feel great when can I go home?" The quiet vampire laughed at her efforts and frowned. The blonde got the message and pouted "I'm fine. A little bit sore but I'll be good in a few days." Angel sighed and in the chair next to the bed. When he reached over to brush her hair off her shoulder she flinched and jerked away wincing with the sudden movement. He looked at her almost stunned "Buff- I would never hurt you. You're safe." Making no effort to move closer she looked at him and nodded, reaching out for his hand and intertwining their fingers. He sighed quietly when she laid back and her breathing evened out. Still holding her hand he sighed. This was going to be quite the recovery.  
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**I don't know if I'm going to write another chapter, this was originally going to be a one shot, but I feel like I could write more. I guess it depends on you guys' feedback. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think! Opinions, hints, ideas, constructive criticism, and tell me if I should write more, I'm kinda torn. If I would write more it would probably be one more short chapter.**


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